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It's time to stick up for maligned brown rice
By J.M. HIRSCH, Associated Press CONCORD, N.H. -- Here's a subtle difference: Most people want to eat healthier, but few people like health food. Luckily, there is no reason why you can't have it both ways. Health food brings to mind platters of dry brown rice tossed with jiggling cubes of pale tofu. Eating healthy, on the other hand, is a different world. Now we're talking crushed fresh tomatoes and deep-green basil leaves tossed with pasta and olive oil, or rich yet still low-fat lasagnas bursting with slices of zucchini and eggplant. But the divide is a misnomer. Traditional health foods can be as appealing to the palate as they are to your conscience. The trouble with so-called health foods started with the early vegetarian movement, which during the 1960s and 1970s popularized products such as brown rice and tofu. The trailblazers of the movement deserve credit for getting people to think about how they eat, but some of their recipes deserve to be retired. Brown rice really took the brunt of health food's bad reputation. Tofu at least has bounced back in recent years as the benefits of soy have been more widely recognized and efforts to market it and enhance its flavor paid off. The brown rice lobby hasn't been quite as aggressive. So here are a few tricks for making brown rice part of your healthy diet without feeling as though you are eating health food. Start with rice variety. Brown rice comes three ways: long, medium and short grain. Generally, the shorter the grain, the starchier the rice, making it more likely to stick together. Short-grain brown rice is great for soups, where the starch acts as a thickener, and for sushi, which requires sticky rice (though really good sushi needs white sushi rice). Long- and medium-grain varieties do well in stir-fries, where the grains won't lump together. As for cooking, boiling is fine, though it can be time-consuming. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white, which started brown but was polished (stripping it of much of its nutrients). Rice steamers can have mixed results; many do well with white rice but leave brown rice undercooked. Be sure to buy a model that specifies it can handle brown rice and provides instructions. No matter how you cook it, add flavor by first toasting your grains. To do this, place the rice in a large saute pan over a high flame. Stir constantly and heat for 1 or 2 minutes, until the rice is fragrant, then cook the rice as you normally would. More flavor can be added during cooking with subtle changes. For example, for some or all the cooking water substitute vegetable broth or white wine. Or, add several tablespoons of soy sauce. Dry seasonings can be added, too. Try a dash of paprika and red pepper flakes for a zesty rice dish. After the rice cooks, transfer it to a large skillet and stir in crushed tomatoes, canned chickpeas and fresh parsley. For a flavorful take on brown rice, try this recipe with cashew nuts and cranberries, adapted from Luiz Ratto's book The Healthy Table (ReganBooks, 2003, $27.50). This recipe makes enough to feed eight. If that's too much, don't reduce the recipe; use the leftovers as the base for a great soup the next day. Just add broth, canned tomatoes, beans and seasonings. When you are buying brown rice, look for a smattering of pale green grains -- this is a sign of freshness. Brown Rice With Cashew Nuts and Cranberries
Preparation 45 minutes. Place the rice in a large skillet and toast over a high flame for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add 6 cups water and bring to a strong simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large skillet over a high flame. Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the ginger and saute for 1 minute, then add the garlic and cranberries and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes, or until heated through. Add the rice, cashew nuts and salt, to taste. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in parsley and scallions. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.
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From the Times Taste section From the features wire | |||||||||||||||||
